Light rail customers appear to be the happiest with how things are run, the survey showed. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail serves approximately 20,000 riders on a typical weekday.

About 19,000 NJ Transit customers participated in the survey last spring, a part of the transportation company's "Scorecard," an initiative to inform customers on how the company is performing.

The customers rated each transportation service in 32 different categories on a scale of 0 (unacceptable) to 10 (excellent) with 5 being "acceptable" or satisfactory. Riders were also asked to list the three most important areas that NJ Transit needs to improve.

Light rail service received an overall rating of 6.5. The light rail's highest ratings were payment options (7.6), overall trip time (7.3) and on-time performance (7.1). Even though the fares (6), weekend evening schedule (5.9) and its weekend/holiday schedule (5) all rated satisfactory or higher, respondents to the survey said those areas needed improvement.

NJ Transit buses received an overall rating of 5.5. It's three highest ratings were payment options (6.6), website (6.6) and safety (6.4). Customers noted that weekday evening schedule (4.9), fares (4.8), and on-time performance (4.7) were the most important areas that need improvement.

Overall, NJ Transit received a rating of 5.2, above "acceptable"

"We want to be better than simply 'acceptable' and are committed to moving the needle to the end," said Executive Director James Weinstein. "We also encourage the continued participation of our customers in these surveys to let us know how we are doing."